Published 11:40 am, Tuesday, January 19, 2016

The year ended with another drop in the number of houses on the market, according to statistics provided by the Permian Basin Board of Realtors.

The number of houses on the market inside Midland County dropped to a five-month low and reversed a trend experienced in 2013 and 2014. The market has 517 houses, which is fewer than the 530 reported in August and 34 less than the 551 reported in September. In 2013 and 2014, the PBBOR reported an increase in supply from November to December. This past year, there was a five-house drop in supply.

The December report showed a rise in days on the market (DOM) from 29 to 40. Figures for the entire year showed that the 29 in November to be an outlier — it was the fewest since May 2013 — and the 40 in December to be more representative of what was experienced the entire year. Year over year, the 40 days is slightly higher than December 2014 (36) but still lower than December 2012 (49) and December 2013 (45).

Days on the market statistics as a whole were effected by the rise in the number of days that it took to sell homes in the $200,000 to $399,999 range. In those categories, the number of days on the market increased by at least 50 percent. Time spent on the market tripled in November for houses costing $300,000 to $399,999. Still, the PBBOR reports just less than half of the inventory sold (74 homes) were on the market 30 days or less.

The PBBOR did report a drop of nearly $12,000 in the average price of a house sold in December compared to November. Still the $275,844 was more than the monthly average in 2015 ($275,042) and slightly less than December 2014 ($277,656). December 2015 did out-perform Decembers in 2012 and 2013 in average price. The month also outperformed Decembers in 2012-14 in terms of median price of a home sold ($245,680), according to PBBOR statistics.

Lastly, the monthly numbers show a bounce back in the number of houses sold in December (158) compared to November (99), which was the fewest since January 2013. Coincidentally, the PBBOR reports 158 houses also were sold in December 2012 and 2014.